2018 Premium Audio System

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SCOPESYS

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Remember Guys, these are plots of the AMP output -- what the speakers do with the voltage supplied to them is up to them !! It's the overall response that really matter -- if you are looking at Frequency responses.

At the end of the day, the response is not nearly as important as how the audio SOUNDS to YOU ... and in a cars internal reflective environment, the actual frequencies that you hear and there relative volumes is ridiculously complex, and will probably bear little relationship to the amp's output.
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kperalta

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Remember Guys, these are plots of the AMP output -- what the speakers do with the voltage supplied to them is up to them !! It's the overall response that really matter -- if you are looking at Frequency responses.

At the end of the day, the response is not nearly as important as how the audio SOUNDS to YOU ... and in a cars internal reflective environment, the actual frequencies that you hear and there relative volumes is ridiculously complex, and will probably bear little relationship to the amp's output.
By far the most important thing when it comes to audio. We can all make suggestions, as I always do on this thread, but in the end it's about what you like/want. Also, if I couldn't state my opinion in threads, I wouldn't much like this forum.
 

piterek

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Do we know the OE amp output rating for each channel, or maybe the OE speaker ratings?

I found in my 8th gen car speaker upgrade that it's critical to match speakers to the amp for good speaker performance. For example... my Alpine HU was 4 x 50W RMS, and I picked 40W RMS speakers for the doors. Sounded great.

I see that some posts suggest 60W speakers... wondering if that's a good fit, considering amplifier power required to get the best out of them. Thinking ahead of the door and tweet speaker upgrade.
 

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Has anyone tried to replace the factory subwoofer speaker in the rear deck for another 8" free air sub with aftermarket amp?

somethink like this:
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Subwoofers/Shallow+Mount/TS-SW2002D2
Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 8-inch:
8" Shallow subwoofer with dual 2-ohm voice coils
Handles up to 150 watts RMS (600 watts peak power)
Frequency response: 20-200 Hz
Works in free-air applications


or is it the wrong way?
 

Gael

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Hi everyone,
Great helpful thread.

Just wanted to share what I finally did to get the great sound I have been hoping for for months!

I did switch the front and central speakers to focals, but the sound was inconsistent, sometimes ok and sometimes horrible with especially high pitch “ringing” on some songs. It has been said before, but the premium sound system is an absolute joke and shame to be sold as one. On top of that, it’s very difficult to improve the system, as there are weird filters everywhere and no obvious way to plug in an external amp or just get a flat signal.

I ended up installing the Audiocontrol D.6.1200 amp which has an integrated DSP and bass restoration. After proper tuning (over a couple of months) the result is GREAT.

It fits nicely under the passenger seat.

Note that proper selection of crossover frequency and application of full bass restauration level on all speakers was critical.

Honda Civic 10th gen 2018 Premium Audio System DD2A4654-DC20-4B33-AD80-B5102340278A


Honda Civic 10th gen 2018 Premium Audio System 9A0F4DCD-CF43-495A-A53C-57D3518BFA4E
 


kperalta

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Hi everyone,
Great helpful thread.

Just wanted to share what I finally did to get the great sound I have been hoping for for months!

I did switch the front and central speakers to focals, but the sound was inconsistent, sometimes ok and sometimes horrible with especially high pitch “ringing” on some songs. It has been said before, but the premium sound system is an absolute joke and shame to be sold as one. On top of that, it’s very difficult to improve the system, as there are weird filters everywhere and no obvious way to plug in an external amp or just get a flat signal.

I ended up installing the Audiocontrol D.6.1200 amp which has an integrated DSP and bass restoration. After proper tuning (over a couple of months) the result is GREAT.

It fits nicely under the passenger seat.

Note that proper selection of crossover frequency and application of full bass restauration level on all speakers was critical.

DD2A4654-DC20-4B33-AD80-B5102340278A.jpeg


9A0F4DCD-CF43-495A-A53C-57D3518BFA4E.jpeg
I'm so proud of you :cry:
 

Boosted1one

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Dang bro, I haven't had a chance to go through all this but just skimming the info and the work involved :thumbsup::thumbsup: . Thank you.​
 

CivicX_Si_VTurbo

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First off want to thank everyone in this thread for the great info especially SCOPESYS. I understand this thread is old but I thought I would ask my dumb question on here to get the best answer. So I have a 2017 Civic SI Coupe with the "Premium" Sound system. I recently have decided to do something about the sound system. I'm assuming there still has been no fix for the DSP with this system. I have upgraded the front door speakers with JBL 621F's(nothing extreme). I have a LC2i tapped to front doors to a 250/1 JL audio amp pushing a 8w1v3 in a sealed box(factory subwoofer is disconnected). So far decent but noticeably annoying with the DSP. To your suggestion, I am picking up a JL audio c2-350x to replace the center, hope this helps a lot. Now to my dumb question which I'm sure is not the smartest thing to do but want to know if I should at least try it. So with the subwoofer disconnected, if you fade the music all the way to the rear, you notice a huge lack of full range sound coming from the rear deck speakers. I have a pair of Kicker 46csc44's that I can replace these speakers with. Problem is I figured this is pointless as barely anything will be fed to these speakers. So I was wondering what if I were to split the front door signals to the rear deck speakers getting full range sound on all four speakers? Obviously I would lose control of fade from front to back as everything would be connected to front. Other then that would I risk frying or blowing anything by doing this. I assume I might in the long wrong but would like to get your expert opinions.

Thanks in advance.
 

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So I was wondering what if I were to split the front door signals to the rear deck speakers getting full range sound on all four speakers? Obviously I would lose control of fade from front to back as everything would be connected to front. Other then that would I risk frying or blowing anything by doing this.
Off the top of my head...

You'd have to make sure that the loads on each channel were within spec, resistance-wise. If you were no longer going to have the rear speaker channels connected to a load; that might be an issue. A fader would certainly stop input signal going to the factory amp. But those two channels of the factory amp, I believe, would still be 'running' and would need to see a load or resistance at the end. /// So far as the fronts; you'd have to make sure that the total load that the amp sees is within spec. Generally... wiring these in series will increase the load (and paradoxically be safe for the amp). Wiring in parallel cuts the load down and can (paradoxically) damage the amp.

It can be done, certainly. But, for me, a fader is more effective than a tone control or EQ for changing the 'color' of the sound easily and on the fly.

Just my thoughts. Keep us in the loop. And good luck.
 

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First off want to thank everyone in this thread for the great info especially SCOPESYS. I understand this thread is old but I thought I would ask my dumb question on here to get the best answer. So I have a 2017 Civic SI Coupe with the "Premium" Sound system. I recently have decided to do something about the sound system. I'm assuming there still has been no fix for the DSP with this system. I have upgraded the front door speakers with JBL 621F's(nothing extreme). I have a LC2i tapped to front doors to a 250/1 JL audio amp pushing a 8w1v3 in a sealed box(factory subwoofer is disconnected). So far decent but noticeably annoying with the DSP. To your suggestion, I am picking up a JL audio c2-350x to replace the center, hope this helps a lot. Now to my dumb question which I'm sure is not the smartest thing to do but want to know if I should at least try it. So with the subwoofer disconnected, if you fade the music all the way to the rear, you notice a huge lack of full range sound coming from the rear deck speakers. I have a pair of Kicker 46csc44's that I can replace these speakers with. Problem is I figured this is pointless as barely anything will be fed to these speakers. So I was wondering what if I were to split the front door signals to the rear deck speakers getting full range sound on all four speakers? Obviously I would lose control of fade from front to back as everything would be connected to front. Other then that would I risk frying or blowing anything by doing this. I assume I might in the long wrong but would like to get your expert opinions.

Thanks in advance.
If you haven't yet, look into HondaHack and Viper4Android. Makes a world of difference with adjusting to fix the DSP issues.
 


CivicX_Si_VTurbo

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If you haven't yet, look into HondaHack and Viper4Android. Makes a world of difference with adjusting to fix the DSP issues.
I'm confused, as to my understanding Honda Hack and Viper4Android would not effect DSP on Civics with the "Premium" Audio System as the DSP is not in the head unit but rather in the external factory amp. It seems that you own a Type R which would have this external amp(correct?). You have definitely noticed a difference?
 

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I'm confused, as to my understanding Honda Hack and Viper4Android would not effect DSP on Civics with the "Premium" Audio System as the DSP is not in the head unit but rather in the external factory amp. It seems that you own a Type R which would have this external amp(correct?). You have definitely noticed a difference?

I'm not a user of those programs but my understanding is that the EQ and so forth only affect Android devices. Any Apple product will not be affected by any of the available EQ settings in those apps when added to our radio/head unit..
I think perhaps Spotify will route thru that EQ also.
So if you have an Android phone (*that's compatible with our radio) you should be able to install the apk for that EQ mod and customize the sound from the phone.
 

EP3R-T

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I'm not a user of those programs but my understanding is that the EQ and so forth only affect Android devices. Any Apple product will not be affected by any of the available EQ settings in those apps when added to our radio/head unit..
I think perhaps Spotify will route thru that EQ also.
So if you have an Android phone (*that's compatible with our radio) you should be able to install the apk for that EQ mod and customize the sound from the phone.
You can use an iPhone with V4A as long as the connection is through bluetooth, CarPlay is unaffected.
 

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I'm confused, as to my understanding Honda Hack and Viper4Android would not effect DSP on Civics with the "Premium" Audio System as the DSP is not in the head unit but rather in the external factory amp. It seems that you own a Type R which would have this external amp(correct?). You have definitely noticed a difference?
Yeah I use Android and I can 100% tell a difference. I can turn it on and off and it makes a world of difference when it's on.
 

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For people still looking for options to fix the pathetic attempt at pReMiUm by Honda, I have some good solutions. OP has done some wonderful experiments and I have a pretty clear idea of what the faction premium system is doing.

A full 6 channel DSP for the front woofers + tweeters + subwoofers is the ideal solution, however they are rather expensive. The ones without automatic flattening will also be difficult to setup for none audiophiles. A 4 channel DSP will work for the most part if you leave the sub signal out. You will NEED to have a RTA or a shop with RTA to fine tune the frequency for you. The front woofers have enough signals for you to easily flatten out the low end down to ~30 hz. Dayton 408 is a good option here. You can also get a Dayton tuned microphone for your phone for $20 and use it as a reasonably accurate RTA to tune your system.

Cheaper solution if you just want to add some bass is the new Kicker Key amps with build in DSP. Their 500.1 sub amp is $250 and you should wire the FRONT speakers to it's high level input. It will automatically adjust itself and give you a perfect flat response from 80 hz (or 120) to 30 hz.

The factory speakers seems like dedicated mid-bass drivers. That's why there are terrible for mid range. For a properly staged and ideal SQ setup, you need to disconnect every speaker in the car and replace the front woofers and tweeters with a nice pair of SQ oriented component speakers. Kicker makes a 4 channel Key amp that has bi amp mode so you can run a pair of active crossover component speakers. Focal and Morel makes some decent budget options here at $150-$250. This amp comes with a mic and build in DSP that will automatically set itself up and flatten the EQ, adjust for time delay and etc. Proper crossover depends on preference. If your front speakers are properly installed with good dampening, they should have no problem handling 80hz-3k hz. Your sub will handle 25-80 and your tweeters will handle 3k+
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